Racist tweet will follow ousted UNA football player for years, president says

UNA President William Cale said he hopes a racist tweet by one of the school's football players will become an educational experience. (The University of North Alabama)

FLORENCE, Alabama -- A racist tweet issued by a University of North Alabama football player will "linger for years," University President William Cale said.

In a letter to all university employees, Cale called the words of third-string long snapper Bradley Patterson "absolutely deplorable."

Patterson was ejected from the UNA Lions
football team less than an hour after tweeting "Take that (racial slur)
off the tv, we wanna watch football!" in response to NBC pre-empting
Sunday Night Football to broadcast Obama's speech at the memorial for
victims of the mass school shooting in Newtown, Conn.

"At a time of national mourning when the President of the United States was speaking to families in Connecticut stricken by unfathomable grief, that one of our students should utter such racial venom is completely unacceptable," Cale wrote.

He did not return a request for comment sent to his Facebook account last week, but he denied he was a racist in a televised interview shortly after the tweet went viral.

Cale said last week the school strives to turn such incidents into educational experiences.

"At times such as this one, I strain to find some educational value that might emerge. Here, the lesson is to all our students who use social media," he wrote. "Incidents such as this one will linger for years, will be seen by prospective employers, teachers, church members, acquaintances old and new. It is not a legacy anyone should create for themselves."